Military Sea Transportation Service MSTS
Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) was formed on 2
August, 1949, under a directive issued by Secretary of Defense James V. Forrestal,
establishing the organization "in order to provide, under one authority, control,
operation and administration of ocean transportation... for all agencies or departments of
the National Military Establishment", the organization becoming active on 1 October, 1949.
A total of approximately 320 ships were transferred to the new command from the old Navy
Transportation Service and the U.S. Army. Thirty-five of these ships had been controlled
by the U.S. Maritime Commission, while thirty-seven (from the Navy Transportation Service)
were commissioned Navy ships operated by Navy crews. The remainder of these vessels, comprised
of auxiliaries of all types, were designated "U.S. Naval Ships" (U.S.N.S.) and were operated
by merchant marine civil service crews. The organization's name was changed to
Military Sealift Command (MSC) in 1970. |
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